New Chairman for Hume
20/03/2012
At the regular Board meeting of Hume Building Society last week, Chairman Ulf Ericson advised his colleagues of his intention to stand aside as Chairman on 1 July 2012 to allow an orderly transition to a new Chairman. Mr Ericson will continue as a Director of Hume and will contribute to the ongoing success of Money Magazine’s 2011 Building Society of the Year.
In accepting his resignation, the Board thanked Mr Ericson for the contribution he continued to make and, in recognising the depth of his knowledge of both Hume and the broader mutual banking sector, welcomed his intention to remain on the Board. They also recognised the benefit of having an experienced Chairman to provide support to the new Chairman.
Mr Ericson was appointed to the Board in June 1988 and was elected as Chairman ten years later in August 1998. Since his election to the Chairman’s role, Hume has increased total assets from $193 million to over $825 million. The number of staff has more than doubled from 67 to 138; as have the number of branches, increasing from 8 to 18. Mr Ericson noted the expansion of Hume into the neighbouring regional centres of Wangaratta and Wagga as highlights of his tenure. “With our operations in Wangaratta established and the three branches in Wagga being open for more than 6 months and tracking very well against our expectations, I thought it was an ideal time to action the Board’s succession plans. The Board and Senior Management have commenced their strategic planning cycle and it is appropriate that is concluded with increased input from the new Chairman. Those factors confirmed the timing of my decision” Mr Ericson said.
Hume’s Board elected existing Director, Stuart Gilchrist, will replace Mr Ericson as Chairman on 1 July. Mr Gilchrist, a local businessman with experience in a number of national and multi-national companies, thanked his colleagues for their confidence in him. “I am very proud and honoured to have the opportunity to play a larger role in one of the most successful companies in our region” Mr Gilchrist said after his election. In a strange quirk of timing, Mr Gilchrist’s election as Chairman occurred on the 5th anniversary of him being appointed as a Director.
